


Arroz con Leche

by Talvenhenki



Category: Star Trek: Picard
Genre: Agnes deserves better ok, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Tag to 1x08 "Broken Pieces", You may quote me on that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talvenhenki/pseuds/Talvenhenki
Summary: “I killed him.”“I know, Agnes.”Agnes and Captain Rios have a talk about death and betrayal.
Relationships: Agnes Jurati & Cristóbal Rios, Agnes Jurati & Raffi Musiker, Raffi Musiker & Cristóbal Rios
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	Arroz con Leche

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that Agnes deserved something more, just some comfort. She isn't evil just because she killed Bruce Maddox after being heavily manipulated by Commodore Oh. That, and I wanted Cris to get a hug too.

“How do you feel?”

Agnes had decided to hang around the bridge for a bit, wanting some human contact but not quite sure of how to ask for it. She had found Captain Rios on the captain’s chair, alone. She had wanted to apologise, but as she had not found the right words, she’d settled to just saying “hi”. She’d then stood in awkward silence, finding it unbearable, but not knowing how or when to break it. She’d just stared at Captain Rios’ hair and found herself having an unbearable urge to stroke those messy curls.

“I…I’m alive”, she said. That was true, at least.

“That’s not a feeling, Agnes. I’d like to know if I can help in any way.”

Oh, that was low. Captain Cristóbal “I can take care of myself” Rios was offering to help _Agnes_. Agnes, out of all people, who had murdered Bruce Maddox, betrayed everyone else, and wanted to kill the synth girl. He had no business being so _kind_ to Agnes, not when she’d hurt him.

“I killed him.”

“I know, Agnes.”

“No, you don’t!” Agnes’ heartbeat was speeding up and she had curled her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. “I _murdered_ Bruce Maddox! I killed a man I used to _love_! How… _how_ are you so calm?”

Agnes was crying, again. She’d really been doing that to the point of frustration as of late. She wished she could be stronger, that she could be like Captain Rios who never did anything wrong. She just wanted to be able to not cry, to not feel like a failure. Tears were streaming down Agnes’ face as she struggled to breathe, and her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs.

“Hey.” Captain Rios was standing right next to Agnes, guiding her to sit down on the floor. “Take a deep breath. Just like that. Now, can you tell me what this is about? I can’t believe you killed Maddox for no reason at all; recent discoveries have made it quite certain to me that there is always a reason for killing someone.”

They had sat down. Captain Rios’ deep dark eyes were searching Agnes’ face for something and Agnes couldn’t bear to look at them. His eyes were haunted, for sure, but they were also full of kindness that tore at Agnes’ heart.

“Commodore Oh.” Agnes had to force the words out, they were clinging into her throat, fighting to stay inside her. “She showed me… The _Seb-Cheneb_. The conclave of eight…made me swallow the tracker.”

Captain Rios wrapped his arm around Agnes’ shoulders and pulled her against his side. He was using his free hand to hold hers and rub his thumb against her knuckles. He leaned his cheek on the top of her head and sighed.

“Shh, Agnes. You’re alright now. I forgive you.”

Agnes pressed her face against Captain Rios’ chest and cried. No one had forgiven her or given her any kind of comfort after finding out about her betrayal. They had shunned her and made her feel like she no longer belonged with them. No one, not even the holograms, had thought that she’d need someone, just anyone. Just someone who would give her the tiniest bit of comfort, although she herself didn’t think she deserved it.

“What’s going on?”

Agnes’ heart missed a beat. She hadn’t heard Raffi approaching but she could hear her sitting down at her right. Agnes kind of wanted to run away, to hide from Raffi, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Captain Rios.

“Hey, hey Agnes. Breathe. We’re all on the same side, okay?”

Captain Rios was stroking Agnes’ arm, trying to calm her. His voice was warm, like the first rays of sunshine in the morning after a long night.

“Could either of you explain to me?” Raffi asked. “I’m really not following what’s going on anymore.”

“May I?” Captain Rios asked. Agnes nodded, knowing full well that she could not explain again what she had said to the captain. In a way, she was relieved that she didn’t have to.

“Commodore Oh mind-melded with her”, Captain Rios explained, still not letting go of Agnes. “I can only assume it was violent and damaged Agnes’ mind. She can barely speak about what Oh did to her. She forced her to swallow the tracker. We shouldn’t blame Agnes. I don’t, anyway.”

Raffi didn’t say anything. Instead she leaned on Agnes and hugged both her and Captain Rios, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through such horrible things”, she said, “both of you. You deserve better than that.”

“Thanks”, Captain Rios muttered, still stroking Agnes’ arm absentmindedly. She was still sniffling, and the tears were still making their way down her cheeks. Her nose was stuffed, and she could only breathe through her mouth.

“Agnes, darling”, Raffi said after a moment, “would you like to go to your room and rest a bit? You’ve had a stressful couple of days. We’ll help you; I promise.”

Agnes nodded but when she tried to stand up, she found her legs didn’t work anymore. Captain Rios and Raffi helped her up, and Captain Rios called out for Emil and Enoch to help. Enoch was to stay at the controls while Emil was to help Captain Rios and Raffi take Agnes to her quarters. She was simply too exhausted and had to be supported the whole way.

“There”, Captain Rios breathed as he finally managed to lower Agnes on her bed. “Emil will stay with you. I’ll be here for a moment, too. What about you, Raffi?”

“Well, it’s not like anyone else needs me at the moment”, Raffi said, giving Agnes a melancholy smile. “Might as well form a group of a little broken people. That should be our club name.”

“Sure thing”, Captain Rios agreed, actually smiling a little. “You in, Agnes?”

Agnes nodded, still fighting the tears. The support she’d got from Captain Rios and Raffi, it meant to her more than she could possibly say. At least they didn’t think she was a complete monster. Captain Rios held her hand and began humming a lullaby to her.

_Arroz con leche  
Me quiero casar  
Con una señorita  
Que sepa bailar…_

**Author's Note:**

> The lullaby is the one Cris was singing in the episode, named Arroz con Leche
> 
> Comments fuel my soul!!


End file.
